


Before and After

by PsiRadish



Category: The One Who Eats Monsters - Casey Matthews
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:42:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsiRadish/pseuds/PsiRadish
Summary: Conversations before and after Naomi passes through the singularity (a.k.a. has sex with a girl).
Relationships: Erynis/Naomi Bradford
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. Maybe

“Dad. Me and Ryn are going on a date this Friday.” 

Tom looked away from the television pundits whose opinions he was occasionally required to subject himself to. “Oh? Who with?” 

The difficulty this question seemed to cause Naomi was slightly alarming. “Eachother, Dad,” she finally said. 

The part of Tom’s mind that was constructing an increasingly ridiculous list of possible dates his daughter would be hesitant to name – Detective Kessler, Casper Owens, Michael Moore – died in quiet relief; its brainpower redirected into the increasingly complex and looping thought that the rest of his mind was now occupied with: _Oh._

“Dad, say something,” Naomi requested with quiet urgency. 

Tom blinked. “Sorry, I’m just trying to figure out if I saw this coming.” He frowned. “I kept drawing parallels between you and Ryn, and me and your mother. _Did_ I see this coming? _How_ did I see this coming? And why didn’t I tell myself if I saw this coming?” 

“Dadareyouokaywiththisornot?” his daughter asked with slightly less quiet urgency. 

Tom blinked again, and finally remembered to be a dad. “Naomi, yes, of course!” He stood and spread his arms, wrapping them around the point of impact moments later. “I love you no matter what, and if you’re mother were here she would tell you the same. This isn’t even a bump in the road.” 

Naomi squeezed him a little tighter but otherwise did not respond, and Tom the Politician started drafting press responses even as Tom the Dad repeatedly kicked him in the imaginary shins. “Have you… picked a label? Gay, bi, quee-… the Q one?” Naomi shook her head. “Well, pick whichever one you like.” That was a weird thing to say. “Or none of them. ‘Clowns and all,’ sweetie.” He cringed as he realized he’d just equated alternative sexuality with having a drug habit. 

Mercifully, the internal chant of ‘worst dad ever’ was soon interrupted. “Thanks, Dad,” Naomi said with a small sniffle. “I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

* * *

A minute of tense silence passed as they all sat on the floor of Naomi’s room, waiting. 

Finally, Naomi spoke. “Me and Ryn are going on a date this Friday.” Turning her eyes sharply to Denise, she added in the same breath, “If you say anything like ‘I told you so’ the date is off and I’m joining a convent.” 

Denise shrugged. “I’d call your bluff, but I don’t have to. I can just make this face,” she said, then smiled a smile so smug it was almost blinding. 

Naomi’s eyes narrowed to slits before she picked up her phone and told it, “Find convents near me.” 

While Denise snickered, Elli wrestled with the distinct feeling that she was missing something. Cautiously she asked, “Who are you going out with?,” half-certain this would turn out to be a stupid question even if she couldn’t figure out why. 

Naomi rested her head on her hand and sighed, “Déjà vu,” while Denise smiled pityingly and said, “Oh, you sweet, precious, innocent creature,” with a hand gently petting Elli’s head. It was a familiar ritual, at least from the outside; she’d never been its focus before. 

Definitely a stupid question, then. Elli still couldn’t figure out why, th– _Wait. Except… No. Really?_ It hissed out of her without her consent; a sudden, whisper-yelled, “Gay?!” Not even a complete damn sentence, just – to what would become her eternal embarassment – the one word. 

Denise put two hands over her mouth, and actually fell over a moment later. Naomi was less amused. “Maybe! I don’t know. I’m trying to find out.” 

“But you… Ryn? I mean, I know she saved your life _a lot_ –” 

“That’s not why!” 

“–but you only ever liked boys before!” 

“Did she?” Denise asked pointedly – or as pointedly as she could laying on the floor fighting off giggles – and Elli found that she couldn’t quite understand the question. 

“Some boys are cute,” Naomi conceded, and Elli briefly felt the world return to its axis. Her next words landed like a punch to the gut: “When they keep their shirts on.” And then the kidneys: “Never got what was so great about guys without shirts. They’re just… weird. It makes everything weird.” 

Denise sat up and grinned wickedly, and Elli prepared herself for more blows. “Is Ryn still cute without her shirt?” 

Naomi fidgeted. “I don’t know, yet.” 

“Yet,” Denise repeated. “Hoping to find out?” 

Naomi bit her lip and colored in a way that made answering unnecessary. “Anyway, uh,” she shook her head. “Ryn, uh,” she started. “Ryn actually isn’t,” she started again. “Rynisn’ttheonlygirlIliked,” she started a third time, and finally also finished. 

Denise’s eyebrows said, “Oh really?” followed by, “Do go on.” Elli had no idea what her own eyebrows were doing. 

Naomi appeared to take a deep breath. “You remember that commercial where the voiceover guy says, ‘Here’s how it feels to have our cellular plan,’ and then a woman dances for the rest of the commercial?” 

Elli was already working on her phone when Denise said, “I think so. A little. Didn’t seem all that memorable to me. What kind of dancing?” 

A brief delay before, “Energetic.” 

Soft laughter. “It couldn’t have been that sexy for a cellular commercial.” 

“It _wasn’t_ – Well, it was kind of…” There was a huff, and then Naomi tried – and completely failed – to adopt a casual tone as she said, “ _I_ liked it.” False-casual slid gradually back towards nervous-distraction as she continued, “And now she’s in that gum commercial where she’s talking to her boss and has some gum and it summons a unicorn, and it’s kind of dumb but I still watch it whenever it’s on.” 

_Oh, that should be much easier_ , Elli thought, and in less than a minute was proven right. “Was it for Ice Breakers?” she asked as she started the video then showed it to Naomi. 

Naomi looked from the video, to Elli, to the video, and back to Elli. “How?” 

“Never underestimate Elli’s google-fu,” Denise said sagely as she leaned over to watch. 

Once it was finished Elli took her phone back, gave it a few quick taps, then said, “Here’s the dancing one.” 

“That _is_ energetic,” Denise commented a moment later. 

“And _kind of_ sexy,” Elli added, to paraphrase Naomi. “I don’t see it, though. I mean, she’s pretty, but…” 

“Not ‘break through years of social conditioning to reveal your inner truth’ level pretty,” Denise continued. 

“Right,” Elli confirmed, while surreptitious tapping on her phone so the end of the Ice Breakers commercial could contribute a chorus of, “Break through! Break through!” 

“That’s just it,” Naomi said. “She’s not gorgeous – so I can’t rationalize it as envy or anything – but I still stopped and watched her every time, and I didn’t know why. Or I didn’t want to. Until now.” 

“Break through! Break through!” Elli’s phone said again. Naomi glared at her – adorably, because Naomi – and just to be annoying Elli adopted her best innocent-and-confused face. 

“Who else?” Denise asked, and then it was Naomi’s turn to adopt an innocent-and-confused face, though it was good odds hers was sincere. “Come on. That commercial’s not that old; there’s gotta be more. Who got twelve-year-old Naomi all confused in ways she wouldn’t understand for another four years?” 

Naomi energetically shook her head. “Nope!” 

“Nope?” 

“Nope. Not ready. Two is enough for now. Exactly enough.” Raising a finger, she started, “Ryn, the girl I want to d-date,” then with a second finger continued, “and random commercial lady whose name I will never know. To establish a precedent. That’s all for now.” 

“Okay, I can accept that,” Denise chuckled. “For now.” 

Thinking it would be helpful, Elli added, “Erika Soto.” 

“What?” 

“Random commercial lady’s name is Erika Soto.” 

Naomi blinked, then was suddenly looking at Elli like Elli had just kicked her dog. Denise shook her head in clear disapproval and said, “You should use your powers for _good_ , Elli.” 

* * *

Aug. 25, 2017 • 11:13pm

Date successful. 

Dad

Good! Be home soon, then? 

11:16pm

Remember that scenario I tried to get your opinion on before we left? 

Dad

Deliberately forgotten. 

🙄  
I would like to stay the night at Ryn’s. 

Dad

Is this the Ryn’s with an adult guardian in residence, or the Ryn’s with only a pet rat? 

The latter, as was already discussed and you are pretending to forget. 

Also Ryn insists that I tell you Susan II is a roommate, not a pet. 

11:20pm

Dad

I am not confident in Susan II’s ability to chaperone. 

You probably shouldn’t be. 

Dad is this okay or not? I don’t want to do this if you’re going to be angry at me. 

11:23pm

Dad

It’s not ENTIRELY un-okay. 

😞🤦

Dad

I won’t be angry. 

Okay. 


	2. Definitely

“Breakfast?” Tom offered, moving through the kitchen carrying two eggs and a slice of bread in a way that was entirely performative. Both items had been sitting on a plate for the past twenty minutes, waiting for him to pick them up the moment his daughter came through the door so that he could actually be doing something during the weighty, awkward silences that were likely to ensue. 

Naomi shook her head, “I already ate.” Which was probably just as well, as it might be a long wait before Tom managed to produce anything edible. In his current state it felt like even odds between the bread or the eggs ending up in the toaster. 

His daughter watched him for a long, weighty, awkward silence. He managed to put the bread in the toaster. And turn on the stove. “I figured out my label,” she finally said. 

“Oh?” he asked as he cracked an egg open over the stove. 

She nodded. “Definitely gay.” 

“Good,” Tom said – because he had to say something – and smiled supportively while writing a mental draft of legislation that would outlaw adverbs. 

“OkaylaterDad,” Naomi said as she was suddenly halfway up the stairs. 

“Bye,” Tom said absently, turning off the stove. As he waited for it to cool so he could start cleaning an entire egg off of it – _How’d I forget the pan?_ – he steadfastly resisted the insight that “definitely” offered into the quality of his daughter’s newly-acquired sex life. 

* * *

Aug. 26, 2017 • 10:11am

I am definitely gay. 😊

There was still a small kernel of sadness associated with that fact; mourning for childhood dreams and life plans that may yet live in a new form, anyway. Also associated was the knowledge that she had a wonderful girlfriend, whom she’d just gone on their first charmingly awkward date with, ending in a night – and morning – of life-changing sex; all of which submerged that small kernel of sadness beneath an ocean of sweet, melty, carmel joy. 

Denise

Definitely huh? 

Definitely. 😉

Naomi had thought carefully before including the winky face, which is why she only half regretted it afterward. 

Elli

Naomi you didn’t. On the first date? 

She felt her face move into an unhappy shape. _Really, Elli?_

😐 Yes. 

Twice, in fact! 

🤘Morning sex🤘

The embarrassment after sending that was immediate and significant. She quickly typed something else to distract herself. 

Denise said it was okay. 

Elli

Denise doesn’t observe the same rules that you do 

Denise

No even by her good girl rules 

Denise

They’ve known each other for months  
Months of goofy conversations and awkward pining and sexual tension and having her life saved and giving Ryn stripteases 

Elli

What 

Once! 

Sort of! 

Denise

If some amount of knowing a person is required before its "okay" to know them in the biblical sense she and Ryn definitely know each other that much by now 

Thank you, Denise. 

Denise

np 

10:17am

Denise

Kind of surprised your so certain after a week of being Ms. Doubty McWorryface 

Denise

What did 2 clueless virgins get up to that was so convincing? 🤔

_Well, it turns out I just really really like Ryn’s girl parts._ Which was a terribly embarrassing thing to _think_ , so it certainly wasn’t something she wanted to _say_. Except that it was. Because it was a revelation. Because it meant she _could_ feel that thing that everyone else seemed to feel – that naughty, un-talked-about, not-for-good-girls thing; that exhilarating want that bordered on madness to touch, to _have_ , another person – once she looked for it in the right place. Because it was wonderful to finally understand. 

Elli

She slept with a girl  
It was life changing  
I think that’s all we need to know 

Elli was probably aiming for a helpful “respect Naomi’s privacy and mind your own business” vibe. However, a fair bit of “please stop I don’t want to know” was showing through. 

So. Exposure therapy for Elli. It was an excuse, but a pretty good one she thought. But, Naomi being Naomi, she wasn’t going to be able to approach the subject directly. How to be roundabout? _Of course. Penises!_ (Only later would the strangeness occur to her that, completely independent of which she preferred, she still found it easier to talk about penises than vaginas.) 

10:19am

Well… 

Elli

Naomi please don’t soliloquize about your love of boobs I don’t think I’m ready 

I’ll save it for later, then. 

No, I was wondering if either of you have ever found a penis pretty. 

Reading it back to herself, Naomi couldn’t help feeling like “pretty penis” was an oxymoron of the highest order. 

Nice to look at. Whatever word you want to use. 

Denise

Sometimes 

Elli

🤨 Not really 

Huh. 

Was Naomi gayer than Elli was straight? Did that make sense? 

Denise

I take it you find...Ryn...pretty?  
🌷🌮

After failing to parse the seemingly random emoji, Naomi decided to just ignore them. Plenty of meaning in the rest of the message. Ellipses suggestively framed Ryn’s name; Denise wasn’t asking about her face. Naomi’s giddiness – and other feelings – spiked a little as she typed four characters and hit send. 

10:22am

Yes. 

Denise

😈 And yummy? 🍯

That was a slightly complicated question (followed by another random emoji). At least taken literally. The physical taste was actually rather light. The _emotional_ taste – which Naomi learned last night is a thing – was quite a bit… more. 

Alternatively, it could be the very simple question of: Did you go down on Ryn? 

Was the answer to either question really something she wanted to share? After at least another minute of tapping the sides of her phone, Naomi’s thumbs apparently decided it was, and effectively answered both questions at once. 

10:26am

Yes. 

Elli

Did not need to knowwww 😱

Oh, right, Elli was here, too; undergoing exposure therapy. Whatever. Those random emoji were starting to bother Naomi. 

What do the flower, taco, and honey mean? 

Elli

Oh thank god not everything has changed 

Denise

Still a beautiful cinnamon roll, too good for this world  
(And its a tulip sweetie 😉) 

😒

It was simultaneously reassuring and irritating to be getting the “sweet angel” treatment again, just an hour after whispering dirty talk into Ryn’s ear while Ryn came. But after waiting a few minutes for them to answer her question – because pushing for an answer never worked – it was mostly just irritating. 

10:30am

You guys suck. 

Elli, I’m writing you a haiku. 

Elli

❓😕❓

10:38am

Contrast of textures  
Soft mounds beneath hardened tips  
Such delicious peaks 

Elli

🙈 How do I unread something??? 

Denise

😂🤣  
Cinnamon roll has evolved into sinnamon roll 

Denise

So proud 🤗

* * *

Aug. 27, 2017 • 2:04am

Elli

Guys! Breakthrough! 🦄

Elli

Its not cuz of the gay 

Elli

I thought about it. If in a single week Naomi went from nun to "my boyfriends cock is beautiful and delicious" I’d be freaking out JUST AS MUCH! 

Elli

I’m just shocked to see our little innocent non-sexual woman-child Naomi finally growing up 

Elli

And also losing her virginity before me WTH not fair 😠

Yay? Thanks? Sorry? 

Denise

Didn’t read because its 2 fucking am go to sleep you hooligans 

9:15am

Denise

Ok  
So in this alternate reality would you have whisper screamed "STRAIGHT?!?!?!?" instead? 😏

9:18am

Elli

Maybe 


End file.
